Sundowning

Nü Sensae has taken big risks with even bigger payoffs on this release. Proving just how unpredictable they can be, they abandoned their status as a duo — a favourite angle of both the media and fans — and recruited Vancouver noise rock great Brody McKnight as a full-time member. Previously working with the now-legendary group Mutators, McKnight has added another dimension of heaviness to the band's already mind-melting sludge attack.

They've also embraced diversity in other ways, allowing more loud-quiet dynamics into their songwriting. From the creeping dirge of “Tea Swamp Park” to the vast expanse of “Say What You Are,” the quiet sections offer brief moments of uneasy solace between the full out attack of songs like “100 Shades,” “Tyjna” and “Eat Your Mind.” Elsewhere, subtle but defined melodies surface amidst the fuzz of tracks like “Burnt Masks” and “Dust.” Don't be mistaken, though: Sundowning is designed to bludgeon with the raw aggression that can only come from the best elements of noise, punk and grunge.